Pill dispensing apparatus
First Claim
1. A pill dispensing apparatus, comprising:
- a container capable of holding a plurality of pills of the same medication and having a bottom wall defining an opening;
a housing having a bottom wall with upstanding front, rear, and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said housing having a top wall spaced from said bottom wall and connected to said front, rear, and side walls such that said housing defines an interior space, said top wall defining an aperture having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said bottom wall opening in said container, said housing including an outlet;
means connected to said housing for holding said container such that said first open end of said container is aligned with said aperture of said top wall;
means for selectively dispensing a single pill from said container into said interior space of said housing and through said outlet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pill dispensing apparatus includes a container capable of holding a plurality of pills of a type of medication. A bottom wall of the container defines an opening. The apparatus includes a housing defining an interior space and having a top wall defining an aperture, the aperture and bottom wall opening having complementary configurations. The container may be positioned on the housing such that the opening and aperture are aligned. A dispensing assembly mounted within the housing includes a pair of wheels positioned so as to convey a single pill from the container therebetween and to an outlet when the wheels are rotated in opposing directions. A motor energized by a control unit according to previously entered dosage data causes the wheels to rotate until a photoelectric sensor detects that the pill has been dispensed. In another embodiment, a knob connected to the wheels allows manual wheel rotation.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A pill dispensing apparatus, comprising:
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a container capable of holding a plurality of pills of the same medication and having a bottom wall defining an opening;
a housing having a bottom wall with upstanding front, rear, and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said housing having a top wall spaced from said bottom wall and connected to said front, rear, and side walls such that said housing defines an interior space, said top wall defining an aperture having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said bottom wall opening in said container, said housing including an outlet;
means connected to said housing for holding said container such that said first open end of said container is aligned with said aperture of said top wall;
means for selectively dispensing a single pill from said container into said interior space of said housing and through said outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
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8. The pill dispensing apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said knob is coupled to one of said pair of wheels, said pair of wheels being coupled together by a gear train such that a rotation of said knob causes said pair of wheels to rotate in opposing directions.
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10. A pill dispensing apparatus for dispensing medication, comprising:
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a plurality of containers, each container being capable of holding a plurality of pills and having a bottom wall defining an opening;
a housing having a bottom wall with upstanding front, rear, and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said housing having a top wall spaced from said bottom wall and connected to said front, rear, and side walls such that said housing defines an interior space, said top wall defining a plurality of apertures each having a configuration complementary to a configuration of a respective bottom wall opening of a respective container, said housing including an outlet;
a rack connected to said housing and adapted to hold said plurality of containers such that each bottom wall opening is aligned with a corresponding aperture in said top wall;
a funnel connected to each container at a respective bottom wall opening, each funnel having an offset portion for directing a respective plurality of pills therethrough in a single file alignment so as to inhibit blockage or jamming;
a control unit having means for inputting dosage data, a memory for storing said dosage data, and a processor;
an alarm electrically connected to said processor, said processor adapted to energize said alarm according to said dosage data;
a framework positioned in said interior space of said housing having a plurality of pairs of frame elements biased toward one another in slidable relation with respective compression springs;
a plurality of pairs of wheels rotatably mounted to respective frame elements of said framework such that each pair of wheels are movable between a first configuration in which edges of said pair of wheels bear substantially against one another and a second configuration in which said edges are spaced apart from one another, each edge of each wheel having a grip surface; and
means for actuating a respective pair of wheels to rotate in opposing directions, whereby to convey a single pill from a respective container between said respective pair of wheels and into said interior space of said housing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification